Appliance for boots and shoes



Feb. 4, 1930. J, BUTZEN 1,746,069

APPLIANCE FOR BOOTS AND SHOESv Filed Sepp. 1o, 1927 1 1'0 man body;

vPatented Feb. 4,v ,1930iv f i r f g 1,146,069

i /Josiirrruurzairgor oIcERo, ILLINOIS Y A further object ofapplicants'invention is lthe productiony of a device of this characterthat is'durable, eflic'ient, ol'ow cost,'o:tsmall number of parts, and'`the serviceabilityof 115 which is'not decreased 'with use.

'AA further obj ect of appli-cants' inventionfis f Y the productionof-'adevice which-may` be readil inserted 'in boots andsho'es for' thepurpose ojt relieving'shocks, 'of long lasting qualities,-

` -20 the. resiliency of which 'mayabeadjusted-by ya Y small interchangeof parts to suit the particuf lar needs ofthev wearer; f l f c A furtherobject of applicants invention is theproductionof'a device forthepurpose of 25 relieving shocks and tov be' incorporated in footwear,said device being enclosed from :the weather and out of'fcontact' withthe eleinents.`

"I Manyl other objectsfand advantages 'of the constructiony hereinlshown and describediwill i 3.0 beobvioustothose skilled in the artfroin the disclosure herein given.l

' Applicant is Aaware that there are various devices on the market forthe purpose of relieving shocks to the Mfoot-and particularly "35 theheel. The ordinary rubber heelis Well known however, the rubber heel hasits greatest utility when new, which greatly decreases with wear andother causes until the rubber heel isworn out. In applicants device the"40 samev degree of resiliency is', v maintained throughout regardlessof the amount of wearv sustained by the heel. Furthermore, devices havebeen produced for similar purposesv in which the resilient members areplacedwithl i4- in the heel proper, the heel having collapsible sides,unsightly in'appearance and requiring in most instances aspeciallyconstructed shoe f for their adaptation thereto. Applicantsdei vicemaybe incorporated into anyrstyle of i 59" boot or shoe, either lfancy',dress or work boots l novel.V construction,arrangement? and combinationofparts herein shown and"described,

' v,being shown in dotted lines; f y. c .Y

Fig.V 2 is a'bottoinplan view of the device; Y Y

, and

and shoes, ladies, childrens orV mens, with, out altering 'inlany waythe outside appearance, 0f Same', u f AA'lothis'r: end myJinventionconsists injthe andxmore particularly. pointedi out' in kthe In thedrawings, wherein' ylike reference characters indicate ylikev or#corresponding Part's':-- f I f "L Fig'l is a 'sectional elevationthroughgtheVv heelportionvofa shoe showing the'novelrapplianceincorporated'therein, part of the shoe I' i ,'Fig; 3 is a section'online 3.-;43 of Fig.1; Figfl is a sectional view oa modification;

Fig. 511s@ Sectional View @fra modification, 70

y Referringlnow to. Figsfrl, shows=a` cony if ventional shoe shownpartly ji'ndotted lines, 21s theo'uter sole-thereof,` 3 the usualiinnlersle,4 the heel andthe upper,the latter'being shown 'in dotted lines."Atl afcirculaifdepres; 75:/ sionispreferabl'y Iformed in the floor `ofthe shoe at the rear'thereof from 'the'insidedownward through .the innerand outer sole and into the heelprop'er.` A'In' the preterredembodimentthisdepression cylindrical in shape:

Applicantiszjappliancey comprises a' 'f base portieri 7 4shaped -similarto the innersol'e at the heel and "exftends' forward preferably to cthearch,restingfuponth'e"innersole` 3.Base? 'Y is formed :of suitablematerial, `preferably 185 pliable' such as leather, rubberor othersuit-lY y able substancejbut'maybe shaped fro'mrriorev rigid material Such aswood' or metalivf The base portion isvpreferablycov-ered with va c"ov-jHY ering 8 on its upper surface "which may beefy 9U'. u

canvas, chamois,"leather-aor other material:- usedinshioevconstruction.- YThe base portion `'has formedaon'the"underfsidethereof a raised VV"portion I'9, either integral 'for' iattached `th-ereto by suitable means,l whichis ,prefer-'1 95 ablycircularfandis formed with a groove 10 around its outer circumferentialsurface-for the purposeV of 1 accommodating an`d' iholding"the'upperendiof spring 1l.,- A"lhe spring lllat its'bottom endir'estson@ the bottom oithe' 100 bottom surface 12' of the base 7 a shortdistance above the upper face 13 of the inn-er sole 3. This is to allowfor a Vslight relative motion between the base 7 and the inner sole 3. p

In adapting applicants device tothe ordinary shoe, it is merelynecessary to form the depression 6 in the heel portion thereof a properdepth, inserting the appliance and the shoe is ready to be worn. Shoes,however, may be constructed with the depression already formed in theheel portion thereof. For shoes with narrow heels, s'uch as ladies shoesfor instance, the depression 6 is of relatively smaller diameter and thesize of the spring '11 selected tosuit the wearer. In

shoes with wider heels such asmens shoes,

the depression 6 is of relatively larger diameter and the size of spring11 is selected accordingly. The term size above referred to is used inthe sense of the amount of force required to compress the spring adesired distance.- For instance, a larger size would re-` quire agreater amount of force. Y

It is not intended that the entire weight thrust upon the heel shall beborne by the spring 11. The spring 11 is Vmerely intended for thepurpose Vof relieving the shock, the downward movementv of base 7 beingbrought to rest by the under surface 12 thereof coming in contact withVthe surface 13 of the inner sole 3. The proper size of spring 11 will beleft somewhat to the choice of the wearer of the shoe. However, shouldthewearer of theV shoe desire to have the heel of the foot entirelysupported bythe spring, it is only necessary to insert a larger sizel(or stronger) spring, or the spring already in use may be stretched ifof relatively large size.

Itis obvious that applicants appliance'may be worn with shoes eitherwith or without rubber heels. There is no necessityfor a rubber heel;however, shouldV the wearer choose to have same applied, same will not iinterfere in any way withthe operation of This device is of particuL larutility in large work shoes and boots, particularly hob-nail boots andshoes and those having steel plates applied to the under surfacethereof. Y e

In. Fig. 4 is shown a modificationpreferi able when rubber heels areattached. A plate 14Vof metal or other suitable material is placedbetween the upper portion of the heel 4 and the attached rubber lheel,15. Spring 11 rests on plate 14. 4, 14 and 15 are secured together byany suitable means, which may be by the usual nails used to attachrubber heels. Y v

In' Fig. 5 plate 14 is inserted ina recess 16 formed in the heel 4. Inthe latter form the plate is not exposed to View or the elements, and isoften preferable. f

Furthermore, the relative movement between the innersole 3 and the base7 need not be very great to obtain the desired degree of resiliency. Infact the spring need not be compressed any morethan the ordinary rubberVheel is compressed to obtain the same degree of shock absorbingqualities.

It is readily ,seen that after the pair of yshoes is worn out, thedevice may be removed therefrom and placed in the next pair of shoes. Torestore lost resiliency it is only necessary to Vslightly stretch thespring.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterial modifications may be made in the same without, departing fromthe spirit of my invention;

vhence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exactform, construction, arrangement and. combination of parts herein shownand described, or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Incombination, a shoe, a depression in the inner bottom portion thereof atthe heel, a resilient member insaid depression and forming frictionalContact `with the sides of the latter, and a base portion above thedepressionindependent ofthe innersole of the shoe, said baseportiolv`clamped and supported by said resilient member. I j

2. In combination, a shoe, a depression in the lioor thereof at therear, said depression extending through the floor of the shoe int-o theheel ofthe shoe, a resilient member within and guided by saiddepression, a base por= tion above the depression adapted to contacttheheel of the foot, said base portion clamped and resiliently supportedby said resilient member, said base portion resting upon the innersolewhen the downward force thereon is greater than the upward force .ofthere silient member. f

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. l

JOSEPHVBUTZEN

